The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-02-11
DOWN To DEATH.
Frightful Leap of Railway TraiD
From a Bridge.
S-AA FasseBgers Carried Down q
Distance of Sixty Fee, -
of Whom Were Either Kl1A~~-
or Roasted to Death


! Vt, about two miles north of this place.
The express which left Springfield, Mass,
| at nine o'clock last night, bound for
\ Montreal; when near Woodstock ran off
| the bridge at that place and two sleepers
and two passenger coaches full Of passen-
| gers fell through the bridge a distance of
sixty feet. The cars and bridge at once
! caught fire, the latter being entirely con-
| sumed. The exact number of killed and
| wounded has not been learned, Some
! place the number at sixteen killed; while
| others say thirty or forty lost their lives,
/ and that a large number were injured.
/ Among those Killed is Frank Wesson,
| the son of d. B. Wesson, of Springfield,
| Mass, of the firm of Smith & Wesson,
| the hre-arm manufacturers. Conductor
/ Sturtevant of the Inflated train was so
! badly burned that it is thought that he
/ will die.
! WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt, Feb. g.
/ Charles M. Hosmer, of Lowell, book
| keeper for Otis, Allen & Son, makes the
| following statement:
'I took the train at Lowell; was in IA
] Central Vermont sleeper. 1 remember
twenty-one others including five ladies in
! the car, but knew none of them personal
! ly. Several were going to Montreal /
was awakened out of sleep and the first
knew was the humping of the cars. l got
! on my knees and the car began to sway
! with sickening motion. Then came the
crash and at first all was darkness and con-
fusion. l don't remember that there was
any screams, but there were means and
! calls for help. 1 found myself pinned
down by a seat, but broke window and
somehow or other worked myself out of
the car onto the ice. / should think the
car dropped ffty-five feet. The other
three cars were also on the ice, they hav-
| ing broken away from the forward part of
the train. My clothing, except two shirts
| aVd socks, was torn from me in getting
out. lost everything else. A man who
occupied a berth next to me was
struggling amidst the ruins. He
asked me to help him, and 1
| finally succeeded in extricating him.
! There was a lady in the ruins whom we
saved, but she was naked when we took
| her from the car. She said she could never
! have been taken out if she had kept her
| clothing on. think I was the first person
who got out. Mr.. Hutchins, of Baintree,
who took the train at Concord, escaped,
and assisted in saving others. The lady
! we rescued proved to be Mrs. Dryden, of
Montreal 1 worked until was so chilled
that I could do nothing more.''
IA few minutes after the crash the cars
! took fire and the flames leaped up to the
! bridge and illumined the valley for long
distance. Those who were unable to es
! cape, were soon in the embrace of death
/ can not now realize the terrible specta-
Gle of the last scene. When the flames
| burst out could .r imprisoned passen-
| gers, either calling tor help or insensible,
! but there was no power to save them.
walked, or rather crawIed to a house,
! where got some clothing. Our car was
| the second of the sleepers Out of the
! twenty-five in my car, / personally know
| that nine at least were saved Mrs.
/ Dryden was seriously in jured in the back.
| l saw two of those in my car in the flames
| remember Montreal trappor who had
| been with his club in Boston. He was
saved, but his lady companion was lost"
! A Mr.. Morse of Springfield, Mass, is
! among the injured at the junction house.
/ Mr. Mott, hay dealer from New York
/ State, is also at the junction house. He
will probably recover.
WAS FORCED TO LEAVE mis- COMPANION TO
| PERISH
! CONCORD, N. H, Feb. 5.-An occupant OF
the Boston sleeper whose name could not
! be ascertained, passed through here this
! afternoon. He said that every berth was
| occupied. He was awakened by the JOLT
/ ing of the car, which presently went
| over the abutment and, turning over
| in it's descent, struck the ice on its
| roof, which was crushed in. The
narrator, who occupied lower berth, ex-
! tricated himself with difficulty, and at
| once set to work to relieve a Boston gen
! tleman, who occupied an upper berth. He
worked with energy, but was driven away
| by the flames, and became an involuntary
I witness to the death of his companion, who
| was burned before his eyes.
| He saw quite number of persons res
! cued with severe burns. But few bodies
! had been taken out when he left. At that
! time it was impossible to ascertain the
/ number of victims. He expressed the be-
| lief that not more than thirty were killed.
Ira Chase, of Bristol, who went to the
| wreck on the special from White River
| Junction, says that the Boston sleeper
! Pilgrim" and the Springfield sleeper
! ''St. Albans" turned bottom up in the fall.
| Twenty-six persons, as far as known, were
| taken out alive. Two of these are under
! stood to be Mr.. Wesson, of Springfield,
/ and Ed. Brooklebanks, who died soon after.
Mr.. Chase makes the total number in
! the wrecked express about eighty, and the
number dead between fifty and sixty In
| most cases death proba bly, resulted from
! burning rather than drowning Several
were penned into the wreck who might
! have been rescued but for the flames.
| At the point where the train ran over
| the abutment the gorge is a frighttul one
! and the cars went down with a terrible
crash. The screams of the injured were
! heartrending. Assistance speedily came
/ from the trainmen and neighboring farm
! houses, and every thing possible was done
| to relieve the victims.
The first coach soon caught fire, and in
a few moments the entire train was
ablaze. Those present were powerIess to
stop the fire, and the heat became so in
tense that they were obliged to relinq uish
their efforts to save the suffering, and
were compelled to retreat to a place of
safety for themselves and become unwill-
ing and horror-stricken witnesses of the
holocaust. In addition to this, and to add
to the terrors of the passeng gers, the
weather was intensely cold, and the heroic
rescuers were hindered thereby in their
work. No water could be obtained to
check and extinguish the flames. The ice
was several inches thick on the river, and
there were no appliances at hand to raise
it.
VISITING THE sCEEE-FURTHER NARROWING
DETAILS.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt, Feb g.
Thousands Of spectators viewed the scene
of the railroad disaster to-day. The in
habitants for many miles around came and
gazed On the ruins for hours Eight more
bodies were identified. OF the balance but
few bear any mark that can be recognized,
the clothing being entirely gone and the
bodies burned to crisp. The ruins have
been minutely searched and all recovered
that probably can be-
Mr. Tewksbury, who was removed TO his
home at Randolph, is doing we'll Con-
ductor Sturtevant died to-day.
Five more bo7res were recovered from
che wreck. Four are those of men and
one of woman After careful scrutiny
Of all the charred remains the physicians
agreed that they are those of thirty-two
persons (including the five mentioned
above). There are thirty-fve injured now
1nder treatment One of them efed to-
fay. Nine slightly injured have gone on
their journey This accounts for seventy
seven persons. The most careful com